The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2 last year.
The team's test protocol was trialled with several captive and around 250 wild bats as part of a larger study. They discovered none were positive for SARS-CoV-2, although some were positive for other coronaviruses.
India on Thursday relaxed the waiting period for Covid-19 vaccine precaution dose for those travelling abroad, allowing them to get the jab before the stipulated nine months, as per the rules of their destination country.
Ghebreyesus added that the highly effective antivirals such as Pfizer's Paxlovid "are still not accessible to people in low- and middle-income countries," even as reports claim that nearly 600,000 courses of the highly effective Covid pill are piled up unused in the US.
The researchers measured effectiveness by comparing reported COVID-19 incidence and mortality rates in counties with very low (0-9 per cent), low (10-39 per cent), medium (40-69 per cent), and high (70 per cent or more) vaccination coverage.
According to the US drug major, the new vaccine targets several mutations abd produced a stronger immune response against the major virus variants, including Omicron and Delta, than the company's current shots, CNBC reported.
India opened up vaccination for the 15-18 years age-group on January 3.
The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years of age to be inoculated against the viral disease from May 1 last year.
The Centre said it is relevant that there is a logical rationale in not disclosing raw data either segregated or otherwise and the citizens have a reason to rely upon the statutory system in place, the wisdom of domain experts consisting of statutory committees and the decision-making process while going for vaccination.
Around 99 percent of the eligible adult population have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Odisha, the Director of Health and Family Welfare, Bijay Panigrahi, informed on Saturday.
Vaccination of children in the age group of 15-18 years began on January 3 across the country.
The researchers found that B cells targeted against SARS-CoV-2 persisted in the germinal centres - like boot camps where B cells are trained to make ever-better-quality antibodies - of all participants for months. Even six months after vaccination, 10 out of 15 people still had B cells in their germinal centres.
The researchers noted that vaccination, including a booster dose for those who are fully vaccinated, remains critical for mitigating the risk of severe illness associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
India's vaccination drive against Covid-19 achieved another milestone as it crossed 170 crore mark on Monday. With the administration of more than 55.78 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 170.71 crore.
With the administration of more than 55 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 168.47 crore as per provisional reports till 7 am.
The vaccination of 15-17 years old started on January 3 and till now 63 per cent have been covered with the first dose in a span of less than a month.
The team found that people who had received three-vaccine doses, those vaccinated after recovering from COVID-19, and those with a breakthrough infection had almost comparable neutralising antibody responses, in terms of magnitude and breadth.
India on Saturday reported 3,37,704 fresh Covid cases with 488 deaths in the last 24 hrs. With the addition of 488 new deaths, the total deaths toll has climbed to 4,88,884.
Viral Video: Scared Of COVID19 Vaccine Shot, Man Climbs Tree To Avoid Jab
Once the 15-18 age group is covered, he said, the government is likely to take a policy decision for initiating the vaccination drive for the 12-14 age group in March, he said.
The plea had contended that persons with disabilities are at a greater risk of contracting Covid-19 due to difficulties faced by them.
In the vaccination drive, the country has achieved several milestones, which have no precedent in the world, including administering over 100 crore doses in less than nine months, administering 2.51 crore doses in a single day and several times administering one crore doses in a day, it said.
Modi said the central and state governments must continue with pre-emptive, pro-active and collective approach followed so far in fighting the pandemic. Modi asserted that it is very important to safeguard the economy and livelihood of common people while framing Covid strategies.
Briefing reporters about the current pandemic situation in the State, Director, Family Welfare and nodal officer for Covid vaccination, Dr Bijay Panigrahi informed that the vaccination rate is low in five districts of the State, including Gajapati, Sundargarh, Cuttack, Angul and Mayurbhanj.
He hailed Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda, Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and national poet Subramania Bharathy as youth icons and recalled their contribution in the respective spheres.
As many 5,25,35,282 vaccine doses have been administered to the people of the State so far. While 91.6 percent have received the first dose and 68 per cent have received both doses, further informed Panigrahi.
Currently, the new variant of COVID19 is spreading its tentacles across the country including Odisha which has become a reason of concern for all.
The vaccine used for inoculating children is Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, according to a set of new guidelines issued by the Union health ministry.
There will be a slight delay in the vaccination of class 10 and 12 students due to their exams. The students of these classes can take the jab after January 8 and January 12, respectively, informed officials after the meeting.
The team analysed how anti-spike antibody levels in the mother's blood and baby's umbilical cord blood at delivery varied with the timing of prior vaccination in nearly 1,400 women and their babies.
Both online and on-site registration facilities are available for Covid vaccination of children between 15-18 years.
The Centre on Monday advised poll-bound states to speedily ramp up COVID-19 vaccination of all eligible population for the first dose and ensure that those due for the second dose are administered the same.
Registration process for adolescents' vaccination on Cowin App will begin from January 1. Eligible teens can register themselves on the Cowin app through their Aadhar Card and school IDs.
PM Modi said global experience shows that following all preventive measures at personal level is a big weapon to fight Covid as he asked people to be alert and take all precautionary measures but cautioned against any panic.
The latest research from South Africa, where Omicron was first reported, suggested that two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine offered 70 per cent effectiveness in reducing the risk of hospitalisation. Israeli researchers have also found that the booster doses of the vaccine works against Omicron.
The Odisha Family Welfare Director, Bijay Panigrahi on Saturday (Dec 4) revealed that the Covid-19 vaccination in the state has been stopped temporarily due to Cyclone Jawad which is likely to reach near Coast on Dec 5th.
The nine months period proposed by the European Commission gives an additional three months to EU member states to administer a booster dose on time.
The processes and incentives for these ambassadors, include assigning referral codes on Co-WIN for each one of them.Through these codes every person they get vaccinated will be added to their tally at COVID-19 Vaccination Centres (CVCs) through Co-WIN, the letter said.
The findings come as several countries have loosened masking requirements, citing vaccine efficacy. But experts have warned against lifting mask mandates. Although vaccines have proved to be safe and effective, yet most vaccines do not confer 100 per cent protection. Moreover, it is also not known how vaccines will prevent future transmission of SARS-CoV-2, given emerging variants.
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